Boys' Player of the Week : Lockard Is Point Man for Guarding Capistrano Valley Tradition

Charles Lockard remembers watching Nathan Call play point guard for Capistrano Valley High School. It left quite an impression on him.

"Nathan was like my idol," Lockard said. "I watched him in a playoff game once, where he controlled the whole game. Everything I thought varsity basketball was about was in Nathan."

Yet Lockard had no dreams of replacing Call, who now plays for Brigham Young University.

"No one could," he said. "Besides, I was a shooting guard, not a point guard."

Until this year.

Last summer, Lockard was asked by Coach Mark Thornton to take over as the Cougars' point guard. Lockard wasn't overly enthusiastic about the news.

"A lot of things went through my mind," he said. "The biggest thing was that I had absolutely no experience at the position. I was scared the first game and felt very uncomfortable."

Lockard, The Times' player of the week, has left those fears behind.

Against El Toro Friday, he scored 30 points to lead the Cougars to a 76-54 victory. It was the 11th straight victory for Capistrano Valley, Orange County's top-ranked team.

When the season began, not everyone thought the Cougars would be as good as in past years, mainly because they had an untested point guard.

"I could understand (the criticism)," Lockard said. "I wasn't as good as some of the point guards we've had."

But naturally, Lockard believed he had to prove his critics wrong.

The hardest part was accepting that fact that he had to look to make the pass first and shoot second. Throughout his career, he had been a shooting guard, a position he enjoyed. So it took time to adjust.

"I still like to shoot, but playing point guard has improved my overall game," said Lockard, who averages 12 points and 8.1 assists. "I had to learn to see all the court, and when I drove to the basket, I had to look to kick the ball off instead of shoot.

"I still like to shoot. But what really feels good is winning 11 straight and being ranked No. 1."